@lebackpacker / Johan Lolos

Photos and videos by lebackpacker

10pm at 2,360m above sea level, freezing my ass off in order to capture the core of the Milky Way slowly setting south of Mont Blanc, both the Alps and Western Europe's highest peak. It sure isn't an emblematic looking mountain like the Matterhorn or Fitz Roy can be, but when you're coming from Valle d'Aosta on a summer day when all the snow has melt and you see the huge Mont Blanc massif and its glaciers appearing far in the distance, you really understand why it is called "White Mount". By the way, the light in the valley is the town of Chamonix #peaksofeurope
@savoiemontblanc #savoiemontblanc

Next time I'll be in Chamonix Mont-Blanc, I'll be one these guys. I've been thinking of getting an introduction to mountaineering for too long, and I cannot handle the wait anymore. Hopefully soon enough! #peaksofeurope
@savoiemontblanc #savoiemontblanc

The French Alps. The Mont-Blanc massif. Some of the most dramatic mountains I've ever seen. I was dreaming of seeing the region of Chamonix for ages and it sure didn't disappoint at all! This is the view you get from 3,842m / 12,602ft above sea level. Insane! #peaksofeurope
@savoiemontblanc #savoiemontblanc

An alpine tarn as Kiwis say. Or perhaps they say that in England too? The best for nice reflection and sometimes even an afternoon nap! I used to chase them all in the Southern Alps when I lived in New Zealand and I was stoked to find one of those in the Piora Valley in Switzerland. #peaksofeurope
@ticinoturismo

The day we almost hiked for no view.
@supertrampeur and I planned to hike up Pizzo Taneda for sunset in order to have the best view on the Piora Valley. Halfway, we spotted a good looking ridge that wasn't on the path but seemed to offer even better views than from the top of Taneda. Thinking we would only need 20min to reach the ridge, we started our way up, leaving the main trail. We eventually found ourselves in a very uncomfortable situation where the way to the ridge was steep as hell and became dangerous. When Josh arrived at the top I could see all his disappointment. No views from the ridge. Nothing but rocks, no lakes around. We then only realized that we wasted more than an hour trying to reach something that looked promising, and that it was impossible we would make it on time to the top of Pizzo Taneda for sunset. Gutted, we yet decided to go back on the main trail and see how high we could get to before it gets dark. Not the view we came for, but we were rewarded with a cascade of 3 alpine lakes just a few minutes before dark. Good thing we found the motivation to keep going up instead of just giving up and returning to the car, thinking we would be too late for anything good. But I'm not done with Pizzo Taneda yet, I'll have to come back and start the hike a bit earlier to allow off-trail exploration! #peaksofeurope
Shot for @myswitzerland | @ticinoturismo

This car has been my home for 3 months now, bringing me to some very remote places of continental Europe. Life on the road isn't easy everyday and through #PeaksOfEurope this is what I also wanted to document. You can see a glimpse of it in my daily InstaStories. The life of a travel photographer being full time on the road for nearly half a year, with all the good moments but also the more difficult ones. Even though I'll miss the road, I cannot wait to return home in 2 weeks and start working on releasing a photo series that summarizes and illustrates all I've experienced since May 15th in 17 countries and 40,000km around Europe. Many of you who follow my stories suggested I publish a photo book about this trip. I'm seriously considering it. Just need to find a publisher first, so if you guys have any contacts in the industry, please hit me up.
@toyota.europe | @arb4x4 | @asadventure

After two days of endless rain, it was unbelievable to wake up to a winter scenery on our third day in the Engadin Valley. Although the snow melted in less than 24 hours, it was crazy to witness that the mountain passes went from golden brown to completely white just overnight, still on a summer day (shot taken on the 10th of September). #peaksofeurope
@myswitzerland | @graubuenden

Remote life in the Engadin valley, far away from the crowds. This house is part of an old village that look like abandoned but is not. Although the exterior of the buildings aren't very inviting, when we had a look through the windows we discovered a warm, modern and cosy wooden-made interior that made me look forward to winter evenings! #peaksofeurope
@myswitzerland | @graubuenden

The Allgäu Alps in Germany. They have been on my radar for quite some time now. Unfortunately I only had a couple of days to spend there and the hiking conditions have been very hard. This is a shot I managed to take during a very brief sunny spell. I'll have to come back here for some proper missions in those incredible mountains. #peaksofeurope
Shot for @germanytourism

I took that shot in Tyrol, Austria, two weeks ago. After 3 consecutive days of 0 visibility and endless rain, when the view finally cleared up, the whole Alps woke up to snow covered mountains. Three days later it was already all melted but still, first proper snowfall of the season happened early September, still in the summer! #peaksofeurope @alpbachtal_tirol @visitaustria

Legs out on a doors-off heli flight above the Alps. Being super scared of heights I would have never thought one day I would be doing that but I did it. And boy did it make me feel alive! #peaksofeurope

A popular alpine lake summer destination empty of people. I had the whole spot for myself for hours until the evening fog rolled in and made the scenery disappear in just a couple of minutes. Experiencing the changing season at its best here in the Alps. #peaksofeurope .
Shot for @lechzuers | @visitvorarlberg